Law, Military Science and Security Justice in Society

Conduct Research In A Paralegal Context Training

SAQA US 119500 | NQF 5 | Credits 10 | Duration 7 Days
From $1,523 per delegate

Description

This course equips paralegals and legal support staff with the skills to conduct effective legal research within a South African context. Participants will learn to identify relevant sources of law, apply research methodologies, and present findings in a professional manner. The training ensures compliance with ethical and procedural standards in the paralegal field.

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify and access appropriate legal sources including statutes, case law, and regulations.
  • Apply systematic research methodologies to gather and evaluate legal information.
  • Analyze legal issues and synthesize findings to support case preparation.
  • Demonstrate ethical research practices and respect for confidentiality.
  • Present research findings in a clear, structured, and professional format.
  • Evaluate the reliability and relevance of legal sources used.

Target Audience

Paralegals, legal assistants, and administrative staff working in legal environments who need to conduct research as part of their daily duties.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment. However, a basic understanding of the South African legal system is beneficial.

Course Outline

Day 1: Introduction to Legal Research and SAQA Context

Objectives:
• Understand the role of research in a paralegal context.
• Identify the requirements of Unit Standard 119500.
• Distinguish between different types of legal sources.
• Recognise ethical considerations in legal research.
• Apply foundational concepts to a simple research scenario.

Topics:
• Overview of Unit Standard 119500 and SAQA requirements.
• Importance of research in paralegal practice.
• Types of legal sources: primary vs secondary.
• Ethics in legal research: confidentiality and integrity.
• Introduction to the legal research process.
• Practical exercise: Identifying sources in a case scenario.

Day 2: Legal Research Methodologies and Planning

Objectives:
• Formulate clear research questions based on legal problems.
• Develop a research plan with appropriate methodologies.
• Identify relevant legislation, case law, and regulations.
• Use keywords and Boolean operators for efficient searching.
• Outline a research strategy for a given legal issue.

Topics:
• Formulating research questions from legal problems.
• Research methodologies: doctrinal, comparative, empirical.
• Planning the research process: timelines and resources.
• Identifying relevant legislation and case law.
• Boolean operators and keyword searching techniques.
• Practical exercise: Creating a research plan for a scenario.

Day 3: Locating and Accessing Legal Resources

Objectives:
• Navigate online legal databases (e.g., SAFLII, LexisNexis).
• Access physical legal resources in libraries.
• Retrieve statutes, regulations, and court judgments.
• Evaluate the reliability and currency of sources.
• Document sources for citation and referencing.

Topics:
• Online legal databases: SAFLII, LexisNexis, Juta.
• Physical resources: law reports, government gazettes.
• Retrieving statutes, regulations, and case law.
• Evaluating source reliability and currency.
• Citation and referencing methods (e.g., OSCOLA).
• Practical exercise: Locating and citing a case and statute.

Day 4: Analysing and Interpreting Legal Sources

Objectives:
• Analyse statutes using interpretation techniques.
• Extract ratio decidendi and obiter dicta from cases.
• Synthesise information from multiple sources.
• Identify relevant legal principles for a research question.
• Apply critical thinking to evaluate arguments.

Topics:
• Statutory interpretation: literal, purposive, golden rule.
• Case analysis: facts, issues, reasoning, decision.
• Distinguishing ratio decidendi from obiter dicta.
• Synthesising sources to form coherent arguments.
• Critical evaluation of legal arguments.
• Practical exercise: Analysing a statute and a case.

Day 5: Organising and Recording Research Findings

Objectives:
• Structure research findings logically.
• Use note-taking and summarising techniques.
• Create an annotated bibliography or research log.
• Ensure compliance with data protection and confidentiality.
• Prepare a preliminary research report outline.

Topics:
• Organising findings: themes, chronology, legal issues.
• Note-taking methods: mind maps, summaries, tables.
• Annotated bibliographies and research logs.
• Data protection and confidentiality obligations.
• Drafting a research report structure.
• Practical exercise: Creating a research log for a case.

Day 6: Drafting Legal Research Reports and Opinions

Objectives:
• Write a clear and concise legal research report.
• Present findings with proper legal reasoning.
• Formulate conclusions and recommendations.
• Reference sources accurately according to a style guide.
• Review and edit a draft report for clarity and accuracy.

Topics:
• Components of a legal research report.
• Writing style: clarity, conciseness, objectivity.
• Structuring arguments and reasoning.
• Conclusions and actionable recommendations.
• Referencing and citation formatting.
• Peer review and editing techniques.
• Practical exercise: Drafting a research report.

Day 7: Integration, Assessment, and Professional Application

Objectives:
• Integrate all research skills into a comprehensive project.
• Present research findings orally and respond to questions.
• Assess own work against Unit Standard criteria.
• Identify areas for continuous professional development.
• Apply research skills to real-world paralegal scenarios.

Topics:
• Comprehensive research project presentation.
• Oral defence and Q&A session.
• Self-assessment against Unit Standard outcomes.
• Feedback and improvement strategies.
• Professional ethics and lifelong learning.
• Career applications: using research in practice.
• Course wrap-up and certification guidance.

Practicals

No practicals for this training.

This course is made up of exercises and case studies delivered alongside the theory — no separate practical sessions are required to complete it.

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course and a final summative test at the end.

Daily Exercises — 30%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 30% to the final total.

Final Test — 70%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 70% to the overall mark.

Final Total
Component Out of Weight
Daily Average (multiple choice) 100% 30%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice) 100% 70%
Final Total 100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

Certificate of Completion

Awarded to delegates who achieve an overall mark of 50% or higher on the Final Total (Daily Average 30% + Final Test 70%).

How it works
  • Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
  • Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
  • You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
  • If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.
Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.

Upcoming Training Sessions
Online training — attend live sessions from anywhere via our virtual classroom.
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Mon 27 Dec 2027 Tue 04 Jan 2028 Virtual Summer 2027 $1,523 Register
Fri 21 Jan 2028 Mon 31 Jan 2028 Virtual Summer 2027 $1,523 Register
On-Campus training — face-to-face sessions at our training venues across Africa and beyond.
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Wed 24 Mar 2027 Thu 01 Apr 2027 Your Premises Autumn 2027 $1,982 Register
Tue 15 Jun 2027 Wed 23 Jun 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,982 Register
Mon 05 Jul 2027 Tue 13 Jul 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,982 Register
Fri 30 Jul 2027 Mon 09 Aug 2027 Your Premises Winter 2027 $1,982 Register
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Tue 26 Oct 2027 Wed 03 Nov 2027 Your Premises Spring 2027 $1,982 Register
Wed 15 Dec 2027 Thu 23 Dec 2027 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,982 Register
Tue 04 Jan 2028 Wed 12 Jan 2028 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,982 Register
Mon 24 Jan 2028 Tue 01 Feb 2028 Your Premises Summer 2027 $1,982 Register
Training Discounts
Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% off per 5 delegates, up to 40% for 100+

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